News

A wildfire in the Northern Interior is drawing a major response.

A discovery of large blooms of plankton under sea ice off the coast of Alaska is forcing scientists to re-think their theories about the food web of the Arctic Ocean.

The United States Senate passed a massive Farm Bill Thursday afternoon. The five year plan cuts long-sacrosanct direct payments to farmers and ends other subsidies, but it largely maintains billions of dollars for food stamps.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seized 21 nets and more than 1,000 pounds of salmon along the Kuskokwim River yesterday. They also handed out 33 citations to fishermen protesting the subsistence King salmon closures. KYUK’s Angela Denning-Barnes got out on the river and spoke with some residents as they fished.

This year’s Chinook salmon run on the Yukon is poor, and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game is preparing subsistence closures to meet escapement goals. The closures begin today, but with so few fish in the river, it’s unknown how long subsistence fishermen will be unable to fish.

The Wrangell Medical Center’s Board of Directors fired the hospital CEO yesterday. That’s despite the fact that nearly every board member was recalled in a special election earlier this week and due to leave office. The dispute over the hospital board and leadership has divided the community of Wrangell over the past year and there is no indication the rift will heal any time soon.

Is Alaska ready for the space age? That’s the question on the mind of some state senators, who hosted the Alaska Rocket and Space Summit at the Anchorage legislative information office Thursday. The day-long session featured presentations from representatives of successful aerospace enterprises in Florida and Utah, and from Alaska agencies like the state Department of Transportation and the Alaska Aerospace Corporation.

Insurance companies will have to help pay for autism treatments in Alaska under legislation that’s now slated to become law. Governor Sean Parnell gave tacit approval to the measure this month by sending it back to the legislature without his signature. The new requirement only covers a portion of the insurance market for now. However, supporters see it as an important step in providing relief for parents who struggle with the high cost of autism therapy and counseling.

Slow chinook salmon runs all over the state are curtailing commercial and subsistence fishing, and now sports anglers in the Matanuska Valley are facing fishing closures.

A legal dispute between the Fairbanks North Star Borough and 2010 U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller has been resolved. The borough and former Mayor Jim Whitaker have submitted to a judgment against them, and agreed to pay Miller $5,000. The case revolves around Miller’s past employment as a part time borough attorney.

A past member of the Alaska Peacemaker’s Militia says this week’s conviction of leader Schaeffer Cox and two group members is a sign of eroding freedom. Cox and Lonnie Vernon were found guilty Tuesday of plotting to kill government officials and having illegal weapons. A 3rdmilitaman, Coleman Barney was solely convicted of weapons violations. Former Fairbanks militia sergeant Gary Brockman says the guilty verdicts confirm government overreach.

Wrangell voters have recalled eight of nine members on the city owned hospital’s Board of Directors. More than 600 voters turned out to the polls for the June 19 special election. The group pushing for the recall says the board members violated purchasing rules and mishandled a vote over revoking a doctor’s privileges, among other complaints.

Alaska isn’t home to a large number of non-native bugs and weeds, but those that are here are beginning to cause some serious problems.

A state contractor demolished an historic cabin along the Dalton Highway near Wiseman. Alaska Department of Transportation northern region environmental manager Bruce Campbell says the state had record of the small trapper style cabin, but the information didn’t transfer to the road reconstruction project.